I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a rotary engine of radially compact dimension.
II. Description of a Prior Art
Various constructions for piston and the cylinder-type internal combustion engines have long been known. Each type is subject to its own drawbacks, however. Straight or "V" cylinder constructions are disadvantageous in that the amount of space required for the engine is considerable, they require complex internal cooling structures, and they are wasteful in requiring separate structures for drive transmission and the flywheel necessary for smooth operation of the engine between operation of the cycle of each piston. Cylinder and piston engines including a circular array of pistons and a rotating casing reduce some of these problems. Such constructions have included, among other parts, an interiorly facing gear surface on the rotary casing, engaged by and driven by a plurality of gears in turn driven by the pistons. Such constructions, however, result in an engine whose radial extent in all directions is wastefully large, since the driving gears must be surrounded by rotary casing. The large rotary casing is disadvantageous in its great weight, which increases in proportion to the square of its radius. Moreover, since the ring gear is disposed about the driving gears, the ring gears require that the ribs (if any) for reinforcing the ring gear must be actually spaced a significant distance from the drive gears, decreasing the effectiveness of the ribs and increasing the axial size of the ring gear to a disadvantageous extent.